Protective door for box-cars



R. E. STARS.

PROTECTIVE DOOR FR BOX CARS.

APPucATmu HLED 15m11.191s.

909,37., Patent@ Julya, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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R E. STARS.

.oscm/E 000B FOR Box SARS,

- aeuted July 8, 1919.

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ROBERT E. STARS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

PROTECTIVE DOOR FOR BOX-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application led March 21, 1918. Serial No. 223,761.

To ZZ 'LU/wm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. STARS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Protective Doors for BOX-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to freight cars and has for its Vgeneral object means for protecting the contents of the car from surreptitious meddling or stealing. A more specific object is to provide an inner door adapted to close the usual door opening and operate such inner door in such a manner that it may be caused to close consequent upon the opening or partial opening movement of the usual outer door. More specific objects are to so construct such a device that it may be conveniently installed in the car, may not interfere with loading or unloading of the same and may be durable and not liable to get out of order.

My invention isV hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a box car body looking outwardly toward the usual door and illustrating my inner door and the operating mechanism therefor; Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the `outer door partially opened and my inner protecting door closed; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken through the outer door when in its closed position and looking toward the inner door, some of the parts being broken away and illustrating the operating mechanism for the inner door; Fig.4 is a vertical section detail through the spring motor for closing the inner door; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal horizontal section adjacent the car door; Fig` G is a horizontal section of the mechanism by which the outer door controls the inner door, this section being taken substantially on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a detail of a key for unlocking the inner door.

At present it is customary, to a very wide extent, to rely solely upon the car seal for preventing surreptitious opening of the car door. Experience in the claim departments of railroads has demonstrated that this is an insuflicient protection. Another dilliculty encountered is the opening of the car,

Yclosed position, so that it may be opened only by a duly authorized operator.

Describing the invention as illustrated in the drawings, using reference numerals to designate the parts thereof, 1 indicates the floor of a boX car; 2 the side wall thereof; 3 the roof and l and 5 the vertical beams vat each side of the usual door opening. 6

indicates the usual door mounted outside the wall 2 and having rollers 7 traveling along the usual trackway 8 at the top of the car. 10 indicates an inside door, normally standing open at the side of the doorway opposite the open position of the outer door. This door 10 is the protecting door, and is preferably made of heavy sheet or plate metal suitably braced by ribs 11 and 12, (Fig. 3) and suspended and carried by rollers 14 on upwardly projecting brackets l5, the rollers moving in a tubular track 16 secured in any suitable manner to the car. The trackway, as shown, has a downwardly extending front portion, transverse top portions, an inner wall from which projects an inwardly turned flange providing the surface along which the rollers lll travel.

At the upper portion of the door 10 and on the inner side thereof, I secure a toothed rack 20, and mounted on an upright post 21 of the car side is a large gear 24, meshing with the teeth of the rack 2O and having a bearing on a stud 22, carried in a member 23, suitably secured to the beaml 21 at the side wall. The gear 24 is preferably formed to provide an internal recess in which is mounted a spiral spring 25 secured at one end as at 2G to the gear and at the other end to the stud carrying member 23, as shown at 27, whereby constant tension may be applied to the gear tending to close the door.

To hold the door open while the outer door is closed, and to release the inner door allowing it to close upon tl'ie first poi-tien of the opening movement of the outer door, I provide a latching device' acting on the gear 24 and shown constructed as follows.

Pivoted at 30 on the car side is a weighted lever 3l having a tooth 32 adapted to engage the teeth of the gear 24. This Vlever is provided with a downwardly turned arm extending forwardly toward the door opening and adapted toA coperate with a projection 37 mounted on the door 6 and eX- tending through the upright beam 4 to engage the arm 35. Thus, when inthe position shown, the projection holds the arm 35 down, pressing` the tooth 32 upwardly between adjacent teeth on the gear 24, thus preventing rotation of that gear.

It will be seen that removing the projection 37. from contact with the arm 35 will permit the weighted end of the lever to drop withdrawing the tooth 32 from the gear 24 whereupon the spiral spring 25 may revolve the gear causing a quick closing movement of the door 10. The outer door 6 slightly overlaps the car side at the door opening so that the projection 37 may release the latch and the inner door be well closed by the time the outer door is sufficiently open to insert any tool designed to prevent the closing of the inner door. In order to hold the inner door open during loading or unloading of the car it is only necessary to hold the latch lever in active position. This I accomplish by a button 38 (Fig. 6) pivoted on a shoulder on the beam 5 and adapted to overlap and retain the lever arm 35. This button is pushed to inactivev position by the projection 37 when the outer door is closed.

To provide for opening the inner door by an authorized person while preventing its being opened after once being closed by one not so authorized, I arrange the following construction.

Along the floor of the car inside the lower edge of the door l0, I provide a rack 40 having ratchet teeth coperating with a dog 42 pivoted to the door l0, thus preventing opening movement of the inner door. IVhen the inner door is closed, the dog 42 is in engagement with the teeth of the rack 40 nearest the door opening, as shown in Fig. 2, and to raise the dog 42 and hold it out of engagement with the rack until the inner door is entirely opened, whereupon it is againput into active position, I arrange a small rock shaft 45 in a suitable bearing 46 between the door 10 and the wall 2 and provide an inwardly turned end 47 on an offset arm of this shaft 45 whereby rocking this shaft may engage the dog 42 and swing it through suflicient part of a rotation to allow it to rest against a small bell crank 48 mounted just above and to one side of the dog and pivoted to the door l0.

To prevent surreptitious operation of the unlatching device 45 and 47, I so arrange this device that it is protected by the outer wall 2 and accessible only by the use of a key which is shown at 50 (Figs. 5 and 7). The inner end o f this key may be provided with an irregular shaped slot 5l coperating with a correspondingly shaped tongue 52 on the device 45, while an opening 54 in the car side may admit vthe shank of the key while preventing the insertion of a larger instrument. The operation of this device is as follows.

After closing the door l0, the possessor of the key 50 may rock the member 47 upwardly throwing the dog 42 upwardly to a position where it stands at rest against the bell crank 48, thus remaining out of contact with the rack 40 whilethe door may be vmanually opened, rewinding the spring 25. As the door reaches its open position, the upper armof-the bell crank 48 may engage a projection 58 moving the bell crank to throw the dog downwardly into engagement with the rack.

Having thus describedmy' invention, what I claim is:

l. In a device of the character described, the combination, with aeboX car having a doorway and an outer door therefor,A of an inner door for the same doorway, means normally tending to close the inner door, means for latching such first mentioned means when the outer door is closed and adapted to be released by the first opening movement of the outer door.

2. The combination, with a doorway, of an outer door therefor,an inner door for the same doorway, means tending normally to close the innerdoor,a -latch for holding the innerA dooropen, and means for automatically releasing said latch upon material opening movement of the outer door.

3. rIhe combination with a doorway, of an outer door, an inner door, both for said doorway, means tending normally to close the-inner door and to latch it in closed position,v means for controlling the movement ofthe inner doorby the movement of the outside door, and a keyV for operating said latch to permit opening of the innerdoor.

4. In a device'of thelcharacter described, the combination, ywithl aV box car having a doorway and an outer door therefor, of an inner door therefor, a trackway for supporting the inner door extending parallel with the car side, means normally tending to close the inner door, means for latching such first mentioned means against movement when the outer door is closed, and means releasing said latch by the first opening movement of the outerv door. Y

5. The combination, with a box car having a doorway, of a mainsliding door therefor, a supplemental door for the same doorway, a motor device tending to automatically close the supplemental door, and a latch for the supplemental door, automatically released when the main door is opened.

6. The combination, with a box car having a doorway, a main door therefor, a supplemental door adapted to slide along the inner wall of the box car, a spring motor tending to close the supplemental door, a latch for said supplemental door, and a connection between the main door and the latch acting to release the supplemental door when the main door begins to materially open.

7. The combination of a box car having a doorway, a main sliding door therefor, a supplemental sliding door, a rack carried by said supplemental door, a spring motor having a gear meshing with said rack, a latch adapted to hold the supplemental door open, and means for releasing said latch by the opening of the main door.

8. The combination of a box car having a doorway, a main outer door therefor, a supplemental inner door, both of said doors sliding and adapted to close the same opening, a rack carried by the inner door, a gear meshing with said rack, a spring motor acting on said gear, and adapted when released to close the supplemental door, a latch for said motor, and a connection between the main door and said latch for operating the latch to release the spring motor when the main door is opened.

9. The combination of a doorway, two doors adapted to close said doorway, automatically acting mechanism adapted to move one door to close the doorway whenever the opening of the other doorway begins, a keyreleased automatically-acting lock adapted to hold said moved door closed.

l0. The combination of a box car, haying a doorway, a main sliding door therefor, supplemental sliding door therefor, a motor device tending to close the supplemental door, and allowed to act on the first opening movement of the main door, a dog for holding the supplemental. door in its closed position, and a key adapted to release the dog from the'outside of the car.

11. The combination of a box car having a doorway, an outer sliding door therefor, an inner sliding door therefor, a motor device tending to automatically close the inner sliding door, a latch for holding the inner sliding door open, but releasable automatically when the outer door opens, a ratchet rack, a coacting pawl, one carried by the car and the other by the inner sliding door to hold it against opening movement from any position, and means whereby a key may release said pawl from the outside of the car.

In testimony whereof, l hereunto affix my signature.

ROBERT E. STARS.

Copespf this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

